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Lady Lions welcome Alcorn State on Sunday

December 20, 2013

Lady Lions welcome Alcorn State on Sunday

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The No. 18/17 Lady Lions (7-3, 0-0 Big Ten) will host Alcorn State in the first game of a women's/men's doubleheader at the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday at 11 a.m. The game is general admission seating for $5 for entry into both games. The Nittany Lion basketball team will face Mount St. Mary's at 2 p.m.

PROMOTIONS: Sunday's game is a doubleheader with Nittany Lion basketball. For $5, fans will gain admittance to both games as the Lady Lions meet Alcorn State at 11 a.m. and the Nittany Lions face Mount St. Mary's at 2 p.m.

KIDS FUN ZONE: The Kids Fun Zone will be on the concourse with an airbrush tattoo artist, caricature artist, face painter, create-a-sign station and Santa and Mrs. Claus.

LIMITED BAG POLICY: Penn State has implemented a limited bag policy at all home athletic events this season. One clear plastic one-gallon plastic bag per person will be permitted for medical needs, child care needs and general items as needed. Items that can fit in a pocket should remain in patrons' pockets (i.e. keys, cell phone, wallet, glasses, camera, sunscreen, lip balm, make-up). General items of this nature, including those that don't fit in patrons' pocket, can also be placed in a clear plastic one-gallon plastic bag. All clear bags will be inspected through the bag and article check stations as in prior years.

RADIO: The game is on the Penn State Sports Network and WRSC 1390 locally with Jerry Fisher and Julia Trogele calling the action. The audio feed is available at www.GoPSUsports.com.

LAST TIME OUT: Maggie Lucas scored 17 of her game-high 26 points in the second half to power the #12/12 Lady Lions to a 66-58 win over #20/24 Texas A&M on Dec. 15. Lucas was 10-for-20 from the field en route to her seventh 20-point performance of the season for the senior and the 52nd of her sensational Lady Lion career. Ariel Edwards also reached double figures on the afternoon with 14 points, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. She completed her performance with five boards and four assists. Talia East did a little bit of everything, scoring eight points and adding six rebounds, three blocks, an assist and a steal. Tori Waldner's afternoon was highlighted by a career-high 11 boards, while the junior netted four points, blocked three shots and swiped two steals.

SCOUTING ALCORN STATE: The Lady Braves are 1-8 on the season with their lone win coming against Nebraska-Omaha. Tierro Frost paces the Alcorn State offense with a 15.4 scoring average, which is fifth in the SWAC. She also pulls in 4.9 rebounds per game and has 13 steals. Ashtin McNichols has played in the Lady Braves' last three games, averaging 9.0 points per game. Angelic Wilson-Reid has a team-best 6.2 rebounding average to go along with 5.6 points per game.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE LADY BRAVES: This will be the first-ever meeting between the Lady Lions and the Lady Braves. Penn State is 4-0 all-time against current SWAC members. The Lady Lions are 2-0 against Prairie View A&M and 1-0 against Alabama A&M and Jackson State. PSU last faced a SWAC team when it hosted Prairie View A&M on Nov. 21, 2008 and won, 80-49.

WASHINGTON & EDWARDS MEET AGAIN: Lady Lion head coach Coquese Washington and Alcorn State head coach Tonya Edwards are both natives of Flint, Mich. The pair played against each other in high school as Washington attended Flint Central, while Edwards went to Flint Northwestern. Washington and Edwards also faced off during their collegiate careers as Washington's Irish dropped a decision to Edwards' top-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols during Washington's freshman year (1989-90). They would meet again in the professional ranks in both the ABL and WNBA.

TOPPING A RANKED FOE: With the 66-58 win over #20/24 Texas A&M on Dec. 15, the Lady Lions extended their streak of consecutive seasons with a win over a ranked opponent to five. Entering this year, Penn State has won at least two games against ranked opponents each of the last four seasons. Additionally, the Lady Lions have at least one win over a ranked foe in 24 of the last 25 seasons. The Lady Lions are 115-162 all-time against ranked opponents, but are 68-36 in home games against ranked foes. Penn State is 1-2 against ranked opponents this season with losses to then-#1/1 Connecticut and then-#4/5 Notre Dame.

BIG D: The Lady Lions have been stellar on defense thus far, holding opponents to a paltry .338 shooting percentage. That .338 mark is on pace to shatter the school record for lowest opponent field goal percentage in a season, which is currently .358 set during the 2011-12 season. Should the Lady Lions set the school record for lowest opponent field goal percentage this season, it will be the third time in four years, which coincides with the addition of defensive coordinator Fred Chmiel to the staff, to breaks the mark. Among the Lady Lions' success on defense is the fact that no team has shot better than 45% this season and the only team to shoot better than 40% is top-ranked UConn, which connected on 43.9% of its shots.

BOUNCEBACK-ABILITY: Penn State has shown that it is resilient after a loss. The Lady Lions have won their last 18 games following a loss, dating back to the 2010-11 season. The Lady Lions last lost consecutive games on Feb. 17 and Feb. 24, 2011, which is the only time this season class has lost consecutive games in their career. PSU is 3-0 in games after a loss this season.

The Lady Lions take a break for the holidays before hosting Hartford on Sunday, Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. for First Responders' Day. It is also going to be Social Media Day, fans that like the Lady Lions on Facebook or follow the Lady Lions on Twitter will get to print out a Social Media Dollar Day coupon ($1 ticket, free parking, $1 soda).

Lady Lion Basketball single-game and season tickets are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY. Single-game tickets are $15 and $12 for adults and seniors and $9 and $7 for youth (12 and younger). Season tickets are $99 for adults and $50 for youth (12 and under), this includes a Nittany Lion Kids Club Membership for 2013-14. New this year, the Lady Lions have introduced a Family Season Ticket package. For $200, fans will get two adult tickets and two youth tickets for the 2013-14 campaign. The PNC Flex Books are available again this year for $99. The Flex Book gives fans 12 vouchers, 10 that can be redeemed in any combination for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets throughout the year and two extra vouchers for the Nittany Lions' Coaches Vs. Cancer game and the Lady Lions' Pink Zone game.

The 2014 Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Feb. 16 as the Lady Lions take on Wisconsin in the Bryce Jordan Center at 1 p.m. Last year, the Lady Lions donated a record $260,000 to breast cancer causes. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Mount Nittany Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital and Lewistown Hospital. For more information on the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.pennsylvaniapinkzone.org.

The Lady Lions are on Twitter. Follow sports information contact Kris Petersen (@ladylionsid) and the Lady Lions and coaches (@pennstatewbb) to get the inside scoop. The Lady Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstateladylions.